November 10, 2008

Site of the Day: The Week in Rap

A new Web site from the creators of Flocabulary.com,
a music project initially intended to expand students’ vocabulary by
teaching them rap songs, is now also making current events more
accessible by rapping about them. The new site is called The Week in Rap.

In their recent election edition, the rappers riffed about the day’s
importance from a historical perspective, explaining how far America
had come. In the next beat, however, they touched upon the challenges
ahead, such as the country’s soaring unemployment and the divisive
issue of gay marriage in California.

The listener’s experience is enhanced visually with a montage,
and links embedded in the song lyrics lead to articles and videos that
explain the stories in more detail. Cofounder Blake Harrison told CBS that
kids want to learn but many students lack access to news that engages
them: “It’s hard to care about something that you don’t know about.”